Writing my way through life, one word at a time.

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To Build A Story

Some of y’all know I’ve been working on a brand new, untitled WIP. Obviously, it is in the very early stages still, but I am loving how it coming along so far. Though I started this blog to share the highs and lows of my journey towards publishing, I thought it would also be nice to share this latest journey, writing a brand new manuscript, from step one. All posts will be under To Build A Story, and I will try to keep consistent updates of where I’m at in the process, what my struggles are, and what I’ve accomplished (You’ll also notice a word count meter tracking my progress in the sidebar).

I hope to be able to share this with those of you embarking on this crazy ride with me 🙂

To start, let me introduce the WIP (though, it will probably be rewritten a dozen times before I’m finished, ha) As of now, it is a YA fantasy set in a somewhat post-apocalyptic world ravaged by shapeshifting monsters called Shadows. Kera is a 16 year old who survives (with her mom and 10 year old sister, Hana) in the harsh northern forests of the wilds. She has lived her whole life believing humans (who live in the distant safehouses) are more dangerous than the Shadows. While scouting for a new den, Kera and her mother encounter human hunters, and are attacked by Shadows. When her mother is ripped, leaving her a mindless shell, and Kera is touched by the Shadow–leaving her with fragmented visions–she must choose whether to face winter alone in the wilds, or turn to the human hunters for help. It is a raw world of survival, mystery, and magic.

So far, I’m really loving the world and the voices in this. It’s very moody and haunting, but also stark and raw. For a long time, I had a lot of scattered ideas about this project, but no clear connection. After a long session with my CP Stephanie, I’ve managed to get the puzzle pieces together, and have finished a bare bones outline. I am 11,500 words in, and so far they’ve been coming easily, though I don’t want to jinx it 🙂

My next big issue to tackle: the title.

I am open to any suggestions. I have considered some things, but nothing has really stuck. Some words I am playing around with include: shadow, bone, ashes, ice, static, mark, chosen.

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12 thoughts on “To Build A Story”

You know, I sat here staring at my phone and the words you said you’ve been considering and could not come up with anything. They all made no sense. Like Shadow Bones. Or Ice Ashes. Or Icy Bones. Ugh. Sorry.

Haha no worries, I’m having the same issue. So far all I can come up with is: Shadowmark, Fire and Shadow, Shadow and Ash, Shadowfire or Nightfire. But I wanted to include something to do with marked or chosen, since that is also a central part of the book. Gahh!

I like making my book titles out of a play on words:
– Last Resort (because it’s largely set around a holiday resort in a kind of post apocalyptic age), and
– Seven Deadly Sims (because it’s a bounty hunting story where the protagonist is hunting seven out-of-control androids).
If yours has something to do with bones, you could call it “Bones to Pick” or something? “A Bone to Pick?”
Probably not much help, but my 2c 🙂

Sounds like quite the story you got there! I’m prolly as excited to see the finished product as you are to get it written haha.

As far as the title goes, I’d stay away from shadow, mark and chosen. They’re way overplayed. I’d love to toss out suggestions, but what are you looking for? Long titles or short ones? I’m full of ’em. If you still need the help, that is, haha.

Thank you 🙂 and good point. I want it short. Because even tho its fantasy its not so much flowery and old fashioned its very raw and modern. Something unique. The best I’ve come up with so far is nightfire but thats not the favorite from the poll :p

A little late for a title comment but I like titles that can also be phrases. So something like ‘Mind the Shadow’ ‘Running from Shadows’ or something like that. If you don’t like those, maybe they’ll at least help you think of one you do.

VICTORIA DAVENPORT YA Fiction writer, artist, & college student-- Share my journey as I dive into the publishing process for the first time, manage the chaos of life as a college student who also happens to be chronically ill (but isn't going to let it stop her), and share highlights and inspiration from life and the world around us.
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